Or is This Surrender
by revivingophelia
Summary: They were blindsided by what he did. Now they want answers... and revenge. Spoilers through June 2, 2014 RAW.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Or is This Surrender

Author: Karen U/revivingophelia

Pairing/Character: Eve Torres, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, others

Disclaimer: no one you recognize belongs to me

Rating: R/M

Summary: They were blindsided by what he did...

**Spoilers: June 2, 2014 RAW**

Warnings: language, violence, adult situations. Mostly language and violence.

**Had a couple of ideas after last night's RAW. One uses "the thing that happened", and the other doesn't.**

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_{ ... wait for the light to come back on... you seem lost, your back against the wall... it's cold outside, it is winter in your heart... your eyes go blind, you are shrouded in a fog... so can we change or is this surrender... I once loved your grace and the innocence that fell from you like leaves spiral off October trees... you know I love you, what else do you want from me... Ron Pope, October Trees... }_

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Part One

They were nearly silent as they made their way through the halls of the hotel, tension in their shoulders, both men holding themselves stiffly. As they made it to the door to their room, one of the men dug out a key card, his hand shaking a bit as he tried once, twice, three times before he managed to get the card to actually work, the little light flashing green and the door unlocking.

Taking a deep breath, he shoved the door open, making his way inside the room, then throwing his stuff as hard as he could, the bag with his street clothes in it smacking against the wall.

"Dean-"

"What the fuck was that, Roman?" the man questioned as he whirled to look at his friend... The only other person that was currently in the Shield with him. Three had gone down to two. And neither he nor Roman had ever seen it coming.

"You think I know? I don't have a fucking clue, either, man," Roman Reigns said, putting his things down a bit more carefully than Dean Ambrose had, the man wincing as he did so. Roman's back was beat all to hell, though a lot of that had come from the night before at Payback.

Hard to believe that just twenty-four hours ago, the three of them had been standing in the middle of the ring, having swept Evolution in an elimination match. They'd been on top of the WWE, on top of the damned world, and now...

"Damn it!" Dean spat out, picking up a pair of shoes that were on the floor and hurling them at the wall, not noticing that the adjoining door between the two rooms that they'd had booked was open until too late... Not noticing the woman standing there until the shoes were already in the air. The woman ducked with a yelp, managing to get out of the way just in time, and Roman sent a glare his way.

"Damn it, Dean-"

"Did you know about this?" Ambrose wanted to know, making his way over to the woman that was standing there. "Did you know what he was planning? Did you?" he demanded, grabbing her by the arms, and the woman quickly pushed him away, surprising him with her quickness, Ambrose stumbling back a few steps because he'd already been a little off-balance anyway.

"I didn't know. I didn't... I was just as shocked as you were-"

"You sure about that?"

"Don't you think I would have told you?"

"You're his girlfriend, not mine. Not Roman's."

"But she's here now," Roman reminded him, coming up to step between them, pushing Dean back a bit more so that he was no longer towering over the woman. "If she'd had any idea what he was doing... She sure as hell wouldn't be here waiting to face our anger and our questions. And even if she'd been in their room... That adjoining door would have been locked." He turned to the woman. "Are you okay, Eve?"

"His things are gone. I didn't even notice it at first. When you guys left for the show, I thought he just had his gear with him, but later, after it happened, when I looked... It's all gone. I guess I just didn't notice because... I don't know." She closed her eyes, pushing her hands through her hair as she took a steadying breath. "I don't know what this is... I really... Why would he do this?"

"Beats the shit out of me," Ambrose said, then gave a humorless smirk. "Oh, wait, your boyfriend already did that tonight. With a steel chair."

"He took his things and left tonight, and he didn't tell me what he had planned. I've tried to call him ten times since RAW ended, and I've texted him another half a dozen, and I'm getting nothing. It rang at first, but the last several calls went straight to voicemail. He turned his phone off. He doesn't want to speak to me at all, so I'm guessing that he's really not my boyfriend any longer," Eve said, her voice shaking a little as she spoke. Reaching up, she wiped at the tears on her face, her gaze moving over the two men. "How badly are you hurt?"

"Got some new bruises to go with the ones I got last night," Roman said quietly, frowning as he looked at her. Ambrose sighed.

"I've had worse. Well, I mean, physically. Not sure I've ever been betrayed like I was tonight, and I will make that little fucker pay," the wrestler said, starting to get himself worked up again, then stopping when he looked at Eve, noting the tears that were still on her face. She looked like she'd been crying awhile, actually. "Eve..."

"I didn't know, Dean. I swear I didn't. I would have told you or tried to stop him or something... I know you don't have to believe me or trust me or... But I didn't know."

Without speaking, Ambrose heaved out a sigh, then stepped forward, reaching out to Eve... The woman flinching instinctively after his anger earlier, her reaction causing him to flinch slightly himself, but he didn't pull back, instead continuing to reach out to her, pulling her against him and wrapping his arms around her in a hug.

"We believe you, Eve," Roman said, giving the other man a look that dared him to disagree, but Ambrose still said nothing, instead just holding the woman.

"What happens now?" she wanted to know, and it was then that Ambrose finally responded.

"For you? I don't know. But for me and Roman? We find a way to get some revenge."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Thanks so Ashjovillette, dashingconverse, justkimmy, poetic heart 75, and XxHoundsOfJusticexX for the reviews, and thanks to everyone that has followed/favorited this one so far.

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Part Two

He flinched at the sound of a phone ringing, the man automatically reaching out to smack it off the night stand or something... Only to barely manage to catch himself from falling off the bed. His brow furrowing, he raised up a little, his gaze moving around the room... Quickly falling on Roman Reigns, who had now answered the phone, the man talking quietly as he made his way to the bathroom and closed the door. Ambrose frowned at the sight, unable to stop the flare of distrust that came, the man wondering why Roman would take the call there... But then he pushed himself up from where he'd been sprawled across the foot of his bed, his gaze going to the person that was actually sleeping in his bed... Eve Torres. Likely, Roman hadn't wanted to wake her up with the phone call, and Dean figured he couldn't blame the man for that. Eve hadn't taken what had happened the night before very well, and Ambrose knew that wasn't made any better by the way he'd first reacted when he and Roman had gotten back to the hotel and she'd come to check on them.

"Damn it," the man muttered, jerking a hand through his messy hair, his gaze going back to the former diva. She hadn't seemed to want to go back to her room the night before - the room that had technically been hers and Seth's - and in the end, she'd managed to fall asleep here, so Dean had left her in his bed, then debated about sleeping on the floor before just stretching out at the foot of the bed instead. Not the most comfortable way to sleep - the bed wasn't quite wide enough, so sleeping across it had left his feet hanging off the end - but it had been better than the floor, and he'd figured that Eve wouldn't react too well if she'd woke up to find him actually *in* bed with her... Even if he hadn't done anything.

Shaking his head slightly, Ambrose studied Eve with a frown. The covers were pulled up to her shoulders, so he couldn't see too much of her, though he knew that she was still wearing her clothes from the night before. The only thing she'd taken off were her shoes. He could still see the tracks on her face from her tears the night before, as well as the remnants of some mascara just beneath her eyes. She looked sad, even in her sleep, and he couldn't exactly blame her. Yeah, okay, Seth hadn't taken a steel chair to her like he had to him and Roman (and if he had, the little bastard would die even harder than Dean already planned to make him die), but he'd pulled his double-cross without letting her in on it, basically picking up and leaving and not even responding when she'd tried to contact him... Seth had deserted her as much as he had the rest of them, just without the added physical assault.

Shaking his head, Dean swung his legs out, letting his feet rest on the floor. Turning toward the mirror, he frowned, then stood up, making his way over. He was still wearing his jeans from the night before, having slept in them, but he'd taken off his shirt before going to bed, and he could see some definite bruising coming up in a couple of places from the chairshots he'd been hit with. Truth be told, though, the bruises weren't as bad as he'd expected. Given the fact that Roman had been beat up pretty bad at Payback to go along with the beating the night before... Dean figured he probably had fewer bruises all in all, and bruises would heal. He'd be good to go in the ring whenever they scheduled him for his next match.

And given the way he was ready for a fight? God help whoever he stepped into the ring against.

The sound of the bathroom door opening caught Dean's attention then, the man glancing over as Roman came out of the room, phone still in hand, a frown on his face. Dean arched a brow.

"What is it?"

Roman flicked a look at the still-sleeping Eve, then made a gesture that Ambrose was pretty sure meant that he should keep his voice down. Obviously, Roman didn't want to wake Eve up, and Dean couldn't really blame him. At least when she was sleeping, she wasn't crying. Making his way over to where Roman was standing, Ambrose arched a brow at his fellow Shield member. Roman held up his phone.

"I just got a call from SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero," he said, keeping his voice low, and Dean made a face.

"That is not a voice I'd want to hear in my ear first thing in the morning. Or, you know, ever," he muttered, drawing what was almost a smile from Reigns before the other man grew serious again.

"She wanted to talk to me - well, to us - about SmackDown this week. I told her I would give you the message, which means you *don't* have to hear her voice in your ear, which kind of means you owe me one, man," Roman said, and Dean nodded slightly, then frowned, arching a brow.

"Let me guess. We have to be at SmackDown this week for a match, and it's going to be some sort of seven-on-two handicap match or something," Ambrose said, and Roman shook his head.

"Nope. Pretty much the opposite, actually. She tossed around some faux concern about our possible injuries after Payback and last night, bringing up the fact that we'd refused medical attention and all of that. Then she told me that, in good conscience, she couldn't put us in any sort of match on SmackDown this week, not after what happened."

Ambrose snorted. "That woman has no conscience. That's one of the reasons she's lasted so long in a position of authority in the WWE. She panders to the bigshots, especially when they're assholes."

"Which likely means she was told to do this, too. She told me that we're not needed at SmackDown, and that, in fact, we aren't supposed to be there at all. We have that night off. It seemed pretty clear that we're not wanted there."

"Which likely means that Seth and his new friends *will* be there," Ambrose said, and Roman nodded.

"That's my thought exactly."

"Well, then... I guess me and you? Are going to SmackDown. Whether the Authority likes it or not," he said, earning another nod from Roman, the man then flicking a look to the woman that was asleep in the room.

"And Eve?" Roman asked.

"She's been gone from the company for over a year, and I don't want to see her get hurt. We leave her out of this, and hope to hell that Seth has the good sense to do the same."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer, etc., in part 3.

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Part Three

"Little fucker isn't here," Dean muttered as he rounded the corner, coming to stand next to Roman Reigns. It was Friday now, a few days after everything had seemingly fallen down all around them, but on some level, things hadn't entirely sunk in yet. No matter how many times they cursed Seth's name, they couldn't seem to stop looking around for him or waiting around when it was just the two of them... It felt like they were constantly waiting for the third member of the group to show up.

Reigns looked over from the match listing he'd been studying. "He's not listed, either. Not for an interview or anything. I'm not sure the Authority is here at all," the man said, then reached out, tapping the paper that was in the center of a bulletin that was otherwise blank. "I saw something else, though."

Ambrose arched a brow. "What is it? We scheduled for a match when we were told not to be here?" he wanted to know, and Reigns shook his head.

"Second page has a list of people expected here tonight," he told the other man, and Dean shrugged, flipping to it, then glancing at it... Frowning as he came to the name that was sure to have been the one that caught Roman's attention. He shook his head.

"She's probably just on someone's guest list."

"That's listing available talent for tonight. We're not on that list because we're not supposed to be here. She is on the list despite the fact that it's been almost a year and a half since she left the damned company," Roman stated. "Something fishy is going on."

"Dude, you're the one that got pissy at me for be suspicious of her after RAW. And now you're sitting here... What? Thinking that she's being brought in as part of the Authority, too? That she's pulling one over on us?"

"I didn't say-"

"But it's what you're thinking," a new voice said, one they both recognized, and they both turned to find Eve Torres standing just a few feet away. She bit her lip as she looked at them, then gestured toward a nearby room. "We can talk in there."

"Why? So you can coordinate an ambush?" Roman said with a snort, and Eve arched a brow at him.

"Yes, because I'm likely to put myself in the position to get trapped in a small room with multiple volatile men while a fight breaks out. That would work really well for me," Eve declared, then stepped forward, tearing off the second sheet of paper on the bulletin board, then pointing to a match listed on the first sheet. "What does that say? I know you two can read, so I want one of you to read it."

"It's says the divas match is Alicia and Aksana vs. Paige and a mystery partner," Dean said, and Eve gave a smile and sarcastic wave.

"Hi, I'm the mystery partner. And I can't believe they put me on the list of available talent tonight when I'm supposed to be a surprise. Now, I would really like to avoid people seeing me before the match if at all possible, so can we please get out of the damned hallway?" she wanted to know, and Dean nodded, gesturing toward the room she'd pointed to earlier. Quickly, Eve headed for the room, Dean and Roman following after her, the woman flipping on the light switch as she stepped inside, then waiting until they were all in what amounted to an oversized storage closet before she turned to face them.

"What's going on, Eve?" Ambrose wanted to know, and she cleared her throat.

"I signed a new contract a few weeks ago."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Roman demanded, still looking suspicious, and Eve arched a brow as she looked at him.

"It was supposed to be a surprise. To all of you."

"You're saying Seth didn't know?" Dean asked, frowning, and she nodded.

"Pretty much. He'd talked before about how he wished I hadn't left, and I was missing it more and more, and... When I came to do the spot for the Slammys, announcing the award for diva of the year, I was approached with a contract offer. I didn't say anything then because I wasn't sure. I didn't know what I wanted to do. But lately... More and more, I was thinking about it, and then... I contacted the front office to see if the offer was still on the table. They said it was, so I signed the contract, and I spent some time at the performance center."

"I thought you were teaching self-defense."

"I was. But that was only part of it. I was also working out with some of the other girls. Paige figured out I was coming back, which is why I'm her partner tonight. She asked me if I'd team up with her if she needed it, and I agreed. She called me last week and told me that they wanted her to find a partner to face Aksana and Alicia tonight and asked if I was ready, and... Here I am," the woman said. "All ready to return and surprise the hell out of someone that I haven't even spoken to since Monday before you guys left for RAW."

"You still haven't talked to Seth?" Dean questioned, and Eve shook her head.

"Nothing from him. Not a word. I stopped trying to get in touch with him after Wednesday, and yes, I'm aware that texting and calling him for two days with no response makes me a little pathetic-"

"You're not pathetic, Eve."

"I feel pathetic. I know he's not supposed to be here tonight, so at least there's that. I'm not sure I could face him tonight, not knowing that he would know he was a big reason I chose to come back."

"Do you think Seth knew that you were coming back?" Roman wanted to know. "I know you said it was supposed to be a surprise, but... Do you think Triple H told him?"

"Why would he? When I was on the road with you guys, we always stayed somewhere out of the way where other WWE people wouldn't see us. I never went to the shows. To the best of my knowledge, no one besides the two of you ever knew that Seth and I were together."

"Why didn't you tell us on Monday? Or Tuesday morning?" Dean questioned, and Eve shrugged.

"I thought you guys had bigger things to worry about. Because they're not going to stop coming after you. And as much as I love you guys, I think it would be best if I tried to keep my distance from you at the shows."

"Eve, you know we won't let you get dragged in the middle of our mess," Ambrose told her, and she gave him something that vaguely resembled a smile.

"I know you'll try."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

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Part Four

"We have to keep her out of it."

Roman Reigns looked over at Dean's words, the man arching a brow. "I thought we already talked about that."

"We did. Sort of. Thing is... Once Seth realizes that she's back, we can't know what he'll do. I mean, she said she hasn't talked to him since Monday before we left for RAW. I'm inclined to believe her. Maybe even more now that we've talked to her and she said it would probably be best to keep her distance from us at the shows," he said, looking over at the other man. "If she was a plant for the Authority, she would be playing it differently. She would *want* to be with us, because then she could tell them our plans. And she wouldn't be scared that they would put her in the middle of this mess because she would have no reason to be afraid of them."

"You have a point there. You think Seth knows she's back? I mean... Just because she didn't tell him she was coming back, doesn't mean he doesn't know. He could try and use her against us."

"I can't see it," Dean muttered, shaking his head. "Seth loves her. Or he loved her, anyway. Or he was just fucking fantastic at faking it. I just... I can't picture him putting his hands on her or threatening her as a way to get to us."

"Maybe not. But I didn't picture him hitting us with chairs, either, and he did that," Roman muttered. "We thought we knew the guy, but after Monday night, it's looking like we didn't. And you may want to insist that he wouldn't hurt a woman, but... Are you willing to stake Eve's safety on that?"

Dean cursed softly, then shook his head. "No. But here's the deal... There's two of us. The Authority has Triple H, Randy Orton, Kane, and now Seth. Even with Batista quitting on Monday night, we're still outnumbered four-to-two. Right now, they're probably thinking they don't need any other leverage against us simply because of the numbers. And Eve was right earlier. She and Seth were always careful about their relationship. Unless Seth told Triple H about him and Eve - and I don't see any reason for him to do that - then I don't see Triple H knowing about them. And I don't care how big of a bastard we think Seth is right now... I'm not sure I can picture him putting Eve in a position to be used as a pawn in this. Not intentionally. And if Triple H doesn't know that Seth and Eve were together, then I'd guess that Seth has no idea that she's back. Hell, he may be pushing her away because *he* doesn't want her involved in this whole thing."

"He knows we wouldn't hurt her," Roman said, and Dean shrugged.

"Yeah. But he also has to figure that we would be suspicious of her. Or maybe he just knows she'd be pissed at him about what he did to us, and he's avoiding her. Fuck it, man, I don't know. I know it probably looks suspicious that Eve's here tonight, but... I don't think she's thrown in with the Authority. She wasn't exactly thrilled when *we* were involved with the Authority. And with Kane being a part of them... You know how she feels about him. She wouldn't willingly get within twenty feet of the guy. Not unless it was to kick him in the nuts or something."

Roman made a face, then nodded. It wasn't exactly a secret that Eve didn't have good memories of Kane. After all, the guy had come after her during a match once, not to mention cornering her in the divas' locker room... And once chasing her into an ambulance, then trying to drive off with her. So yeah. Kane was pretty high on the list of people Eve didn't like... Which had made it all the more satisfying to beat him and the New Age Outlaws back at WrestleMania. Not to mention the other beatdowns they'd put on the guy... And the beatdowns they were likely to put on him in the future.

"True enough. If Seth hasn't told the Authority about his connection to Eve... About our connection to her... If he doesn't tell them about it, then we have to stay the hell away from her at the shows," Roman finally said, the big man frowning. "We know what Kane is capable of. We've both seen it in the past. He's gone after a lot of women over the years, and people are way too damn quick to forget about that. And Triple H and Orton may not be as bad as him, but they aren't exactly saints, either. They've both done their finishing moves on a woman in the past. More than once."

"Not gonna argue with you there," Dean replied, pushing a hand through his hair, causing it to stick up every which way. "If they go after Eve, I'm not just gonna sit in the back and let it happen. You know that, right?"

"If they go after Eve, that means that they either saw her with us, or Seth spilled the beans and told them that she's friends with us. And if that's the case, then staying away from her wouldn't help her. If it turns out that they know the truth, or they figure it out... She could be our manager. If she wanted. It would keep her close to us, and give us a reason to be close whenever she had a match," Roman said, and Dean nodded.

"Yeah. But only if it looks like they're going to drag her into things anyway. Right now... As far as any of us know, Triple H knows nothing about the fact that Eve and Seth are together... Or, given the fact that they haven't spoken all week and he seems to have completely cut her off... That they used to be together. As long as that stays the same, it's just us against them, and Eve is away from the whole fuckin' mess. But if any of them lays one hand on her..." He trailed off, and Roman nodded slightly, looking over at the other man.

"They touch her, then all bets are off."


End file.
